Apple Store staff being taught to recommend Apple Watch styles based on how you're dressed

Apple is training its retail store employees to provide personal fashion and styling tips to customers interested in the forthcoming Apple Watch.

They will recommend which Apple Watch and strap will best suit a customer based on how they are dressed and his or her lifestyle.

This might sound odd to some, but it's actually how traditional watches tend to be sold and shows that Apple is taking its new step seriously. It wants to be a valid competitor in the fashion accessory industry, not just a technology firm selling watches.

Some of the in-house training asks employees to make judgement calls on different demographics. The approach is to ensure that staff consider what the Apple Watch looks like, not just its functionality. It is not as simple as choosing which colour iPhone or iPad to recommend.

9to5Mac, which was sent some of the training slides, also claims that different Apple Store salespeople will be tasked with different areas; Apple Watch Edition sales will be handled by a specialist team, for example.

The Apple Watch will be available from 24 April, with pre-orders starting on Apple.com a week earlier. Customers will be able to try on a Watch from 10 April in the company's high street stores.